Daysha Moore walked into St. Augustine's Episcopal Church Thursday night with a question in mind: “How can my students learn more about Florida's black history?”
The Pinellas County native is a freshman at the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus. Moore said that during his high school years, classes on black history were often “segmented.”
“I feel like for a long time we weren't taught about Black history in our education, but it's so important,” she said.
And in recent years, she has watched states first restrict how race and history is taught in K-12 schools and then defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education. I've done it.
For Moore, these acts suppressed parts of history that had already been “sidelined.”
“What will happen to the next generation? So many people will be left behind by this problem. And they are already being left behind.”
At church, Moore joined a group of people who were also seeking more of that knowledge. They come together to teach Black history. Similar events are occurring throughout the community in response to state restrictions on race-related education.
The Society for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) in St. Petersburg began hosting classes last year. They are named after Freedom His School, which taught African American students in the 1960s.
ASALH President Jacqueline Hubbard said she wants to teach the community a more complete version of history. Previous classes have touched on African history and culture through slavery, the Civil War, emancipation, Reconstruction, racial discrimination, and more.
“Black children are not being taught the truth,” Hubbard said.
The Stop WOKE Act, enacted in 2022, is designed to prevent K-12 public schools from promoting the concept that a person is inherently privileged or oppressed based solely on their race, gender, or national origin. prohibits the teaching of a range of concepts including
Last year, the Florida Department of Education changed its African American history standards to comply with state law. The new standards drew national criticism for their antislavery framework and lack of nuance, according to some educators.
Freedom School class organizer Sabrina McCoy said the government's crackdown on race-related issues has had a chilling effect on classrooms.
“There are teachers who are qualified to teach history but fail to fulfill their mission. It's a real shame, because how else are children going to learn the truth?” McCoy asked.
“But that's why I'm involved with Freedom School.”
Hubbard said the program started with high school students and has since expanded to other communities based on popular demand. This year's class drew on lessons learned from the 1619 Project. The project is a multimedia effort that “places the impact of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the center of our national narrative,” according to the project.
Thursday night's debate included a discussion of how U.S. institutions have worked against Black Americans since the nation's founding. Part of the lesson included watching the Hulu-enabled version of the 1619 Project.
Moore pointed to a section of the video in which he talks about how black Americans were largely left without the benefits of the New Deal, which created social safety net programs such as unemployment insurance and Social Security.
“The history of black people in America is very different from that of white people, and it's rarely talked about,” she says.
McCoy said the community can play a role in bridging the gaps in these discussions. Community education like Freedom School does not operate out of fear of violating state law.
“I think if we do our part, the information will get out,” McCoy said. “There are adults here who probably have children or grandchildren or are members of another church. I think if they get the information back, there will ultimately be a synergy.”
Moore said these teach-ins are also more than just an academic pursuit for her. It's also a personal journey.
“Because it’s important to see ourselves in education and see ourselves within these structures,” she said. “We are leveraging our community to fight the erasure of Black history…and that gives me hope.”
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